Meet Eva Hogan, your 2011-2012 National Sea Scout Boatswain

Eva Hogan enjoyed her time in the Girl Scouts, but it didn’t offer enough of one activity she craved: sailing.

So one Monday evening in 2006, she checked out a Sea Scout meeting with a local ship.

Here’s how she remembers it: “I went to my first ship meeting that night, and they said, ‘We’re going sailing this weekend. Do you wanna come?’ I said, ‘Um, yes!'”

After that weekend, Hogan was hooked. And now, after nearly five years in the program, Hogan has been selected to represent Sea Scouts from across the U.S. as the National Sea Scout Boatswain.

Hogan, an Able Sea Scout, is expected to qualify for her Quartermaster Award this summer. She’s been sailing in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and is a 2008 graduate of the Sea Scout SEAL training program. Next week, during her trip to the BSA’s National Annual Meeting in San Diego, she’ll sail in the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

San Diego is also where she’ll be sworn in as National Boatswain, making her the official link between the national BSA office and Sea Scout ships across the country.

In our phone conversation this week, Hogan told me she’s looking forward to giving back to the program that has given so much to her.

One of the ways she hopes to connect with people is online. She wants to improve communication with current and potential Sea Scouts and their parents through blogs and Facebook.

“I just want to let everybody know how great Sea Scouts is and make sure they understand how to find more information,” she said.

And where does one get more info on Sea Scouts? She pointed me to the excellent Sea Scouting Web site, which includes tools like a Ship Finder. Type in your ZIP code, and get a list of the ships near you.

The site has tons of useful tools for anyone looking to learn more about Sea Scouting. But what’s her pitch for someone interested in the program?

“You get to go sailing at least once a month, most likely more,” she told me. “It’s exhilarating. And you get to meet a lot of fantastic people from all across the nation and around the world. It’s an amazing opportunity.”

Eva, it was great meeting you at the National Convention. Congratulations again on your appointment as the 2011-2012 National Sea Scout Boatswain. Bryan, I stopped by the booth to meet, but unfortunately we did not.

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Bryan on Scouting is the official blog of Scouting magazine, a Boy Scouts of America publication. Scouting magazine is published five times a year and is received by 1 million registered adult volunteers.